Federal health officials announced on Thursday that death rates in the United States decreased across all age brackets last year compared to 2022, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Key findings from the CDC’s report revealed that COVID-19 had dropped to the tenth leading cause of death, a stark contrast to its position as the third leading cause during the initial phase of the pandemic in 2020. By 2022, COVID-19 had slipped to fourth place.
The primary causes of death in the US remained heart disease, cancer, and a category encompassing injuries such as gunshot fatalities and drug overdoses.
In 2023, the US recorded approximately 3.1 million deaths, a decrease from the 3.3 million fatalities registered in 2022. Prior to the pandemic, death rates had been steadily increasing in the country due in part to population growth trends.
The impact of COVID-19 had notably amplified this trend, culminating in 2021 being the deadliest year in American history with 3.4 million deaths. However, the death toll saw a decline in 2022 as the pandemic began to wane.
While death rates by race and ethnicity saw a decline across all demographic groups, existing disparities persist. To allow for fair comparisons between groups of varying age distributions, scientists utilize age-adjusted death rates.
Among different racial and ethnic groups, individuals of mixed race and Asian American descent exhibited the lowest age-adjusted death rates, while black individuals had the highest rates.
The CDC’s preliminary data, sourced from death certificates collected thus far, is subject to further refinement with the final data presentation scheduled for later this year.